Throughout his long and storied career, Pelé had been a champion; whether with Santos of Brazil or the Brazilian National Team, he had always hoisted the winners’ cup. In his one and a half seasons with the New York Cosmos, however, he had not come close to a championship. As the 1977 season approached, all eyes were on the Brazilian to see if, in the final year of his contract and his career, he could weave his patented magic one last time.

For all of Warner Brothers’ dollars, the Cosmos were a pretty mediocre club. As a result, the rest of the league had not yet taken to spending outrageous sums of money on fading stars in an attempt to imitate New York. Which is not to say that NASL owners were above copying successful formulas-in the wake of Toronto’s improbable 1976 championship, about a dozen new Yugoslavs dotted league rosters, including Vito Dimitrijevic and Yadranko Topic (New York) and Canadian National League sensation Milovan Bakic (Rochester).

Although the league was growing in popularity, some consolidation and retrenchment was in order. Boston and Philadelphia were placed into receivership by the league, and several franchises moved: San Antonio to Hawaii, San Diego to Las Vegas, Hartford to (New Haven) Connecticut, and Miami to Ft. Lauderdale. Further, in order to make a good impression and be competitive in their new environs, all of the transplanted clubs made substantial acquisitions. Team Hawaii hired the brilliant Hubert Vogelsinger as coach, and acquired star striker Brian Tinnion from the Cosmos. Las Vegas picked up the sparkplugs behind Toronto’s championship, bringing both Eusebio and Wolfgang Sunholtz to the gambling mecca. Connecticut acquired Portuguese international Jaime Garca to direct the midfield and again court the elusive Portuguese fan base in New England. Finally, Ft. Lauderdale hired 1976 ASL Coach of the Year Ron Newman, and signed the legendary Gordon Banks to play goal. The Strikers acquired Banks by default; probably the greatest goalkeeper in the world at the time of a 1973 auto accident that left him half-blind, he had not played since. Banks, who was also serving as an assistant coach, had previous American experience, having starred for Cleveland Stokers in the 1967 United Soccer Association.

Under the circumstances, Banks came pretty cheaply. Another bargain goalkeeper was Bill Glazier, who signed with St. Louis. Glazier was slated to be Banks’ backup in the 1966 World Cup until a broken leg had sidelined him. By the time the Stars signed him, he had been out of professional football for a year. Unlike Banks, however, Glazier would not have a very impressive comeback, not even making the club.

Other stars also moved around the league. Bob Rigby and Steve David were acquired by Los Angeles, and Vancouver snapped up 1976 North American Player of the Year Arnie Mausser to replace Phil Parkes, who suffered a hand injury during his English League season and would not be available to the ‘Caps. Also, Portland acquired top scorers Clyde Best and Stewart Scullion from Tampa Bay.

The NASL continued to fiddle with FIFA rules, introducing the dreaded shootout as a tiebreaker in lieu of penalty kicks. Matches tied at regulation would now go to an overtime period. If the match was still tied, the shootout was employed. The "shootout" was essentially a one-on-one breakaway, with the shooter having five seconds to score. Starting from the 35-yard line, the dribbler would barrel down on the goalkeeper, who would usually be charging off his line. While exciting, the shootout was artificially created excitement, and an unsatisfactory conclusion to well-played draws. In addition to this rule change, the league expanded its schedule to 26 games, with 12 of the NASL’s 18 teams eligible for the playoffs.

For all the changes off the field, the most interesting story was on it: would the Cosmos deliver a championship for Pelé? Alas, the 1977 Cosmos were a team rife with dissention. Pelé himself, angry that a team had not been built around him as promised, only gave the Cosmos what his contract required. He skipped the entire preseason and reported to the club only a week before the season began. He and Giorgio Chinaglia immediately began feuding and fighting for balls on the field. Woefully out of shape, the Brazilian seemed more interested in his outside business interests than in going out with a championship.

Meanwhile, New York’s "United Nations" roster, put together with little thought given to the styles of play unique to each country, simply did not mesh. The South Americans on the team ignored Chinaglia, and passed only to Pelé. New York’s English contingent-Tony Field, Steve Hunt, and Keith Eddy, among others-played the ball in the air, which was not to Chinaglia’s liking. The two new Yugoslavs did not fit in anywhere, and were viewed as lazy showboaters. Further, the three contributing Americans-Shep Messing, Bobby Smith, and captain Werner Roth-chaffed under the team’s suffocating British influence: Messing complained bitterly of the league’s "English mafia," while Smith was indefinitely suspended by (British) coach Gordon Bradley after a violent locker room tantrum over Smith’s being replaced by a Brit in the lineup. On top of all this turmoil came meddling ownership; Messing soon found himself benched in favor of Turkish goalkeeper Erol Yasin at the behest of Neshui and Ahmet Ertegun, who had forcibly replaced Clive Toye as general manager. In late May, the Cosmos acquired the incomparable Franz Beckenbauer from Bayern Munich; the impeccable German was utterly horrified at the chaos that greeted him upon his arrival.

With New York in disarray, Ft. Lauderdale ran away with the Eastern Division. With Newman doing a masterful job of coaching, and Gordon Banks playing well enough to earn first team selection to the post-season all-star team, the team went from worst-to-first, tying a league record with 19 wins. Meanwhile, old nemesis Al Miller turned Dallas around, leading the Tornado to an 18-8 mark. Two reasons for the Tornado’s resurgence could be found in the resurrected careers of Ken Cooper and Kyle Rote. Cooper, after an abysmal 1976, rebounded to lead the league in goals against average, while Rote played his best soccer ever in leading the team in scoring with 11 goals.

Another contender for the title was Los Angeles Aztecs. Engaging in wars of attrition, the Aztecs outscored the rest of the league, thanks to American coach Terry Fisher’s no-holds-barred offensive play. Steve David captured his second scoring title in three years, netting 26 goals, and George Best added another 11 to go with his record-tying 18 assists. With little thought paid to defense, Los Angeles was just as likely to lose 6-5 as it was to win 4-3. Bob Rigby, holder of the league record for lowest goals against average in a season, was shell-shocked en route to an uncharacteristic 2.46 average in 1977.

Tampa Bay also looked like it would once again vie for the title, opening the season at 7-3. However, coach Eddie Firmani stunned his club by abruptly resigning. The dispirited team went into a tailspin under replacement John Boyle, going 7-9 the rest of the way. Suspicions about Firmani’s motives intensified after he took his next job. On June 26, Bradley benched a slumping Giorgio Chinaglia. Chinaglia complained to Warners top man Steve Ross, and he was soon reinstated. Not long thereafter, Bradley was once again kicked upstairs and replaced by-surprise-Eddie Firmani. What made the move even more suspect was the fact that not only was Firmani a long-time Chinaglia friend, but he had also had dinner with Chinaglia the night before he resigned the Rowdies post. Chinaglia’s reputation as the team’s de facto general manager was cemented. Allegations of tampering flew, but nothing ever came of them.

Firmani’s arrival did little to soothe the club’s turmoil, however. His first move was to reinstate Smith, which, while understandable given the American’s all-pro status as a defender on an otherwise shaky defensive corps, did not win him many points with the English players, who were loyal to Bradley. Further, the perception of Chinaglia was the team’s general manager and Firmani as his lackey further heightened tensions of the squad. Since virtually the whole league qualified for the playoffs, it seemed likely that the Cosmos might advance a round or two in the postseason, but go no further.

Then, realizing that the end was near, Pelé woke up and took charge. Leading by example, his teammates followed suit with inspired play. Meanwhile, Firmani moved Beckenbauer-who had virtually invented the modern libero position-into midfield to make room for mid-July signing Carlos Alberto, the world-class Brazilian sweeper. Although Beckenbauer was not pleased with the move, his precise passes rejuvenated Chinaglia, and Alberto’s heady play anchored the Cosmos’ shaky back line. The mood was infectious-crowds of over 40,000 regularly attended matches at the new Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the home team won three of their last four games to storm into the playoffs.

After all they had gone through, there was a certain inevitability to the Cosmos’ championship run. New York defeated dispirited arch-rivals Tampa Bay 3-0 before 57,828, and then blitzed Gordon Banks for 8 goals in an 8-3 drubbing of Ft. Lauderdale before a league-record crowd of 77,691. After dispensing of a surprising Rochester club in the next round, New York faced the tenacious Seattle Sounders in Soccer Bowl ’77. Over 35,000 filled Portland’s Civic Stadium and saw Steve Hunt steal the ball off Sounders keeper Tony Chursky while the latter absentmindedly rolled the ball in the penalty area, scoring the match’s first goal. (FIFA rules at the time allowed a goalkeeper to roll the ball and pick it up again within the area; goalkeepers often rolled the ball to the top of the box to get more distance on punts). Seattle equalized, but Chinaglia scored on a header(!) to give the Cosmos a storybook ending to a tumultuous year. After the match, Pelé swapped jerseys with Seattle’s young American defender, Rookie of the Year Jim McAllister-many saw the move as a symbolic changing of the guard, as aging foreign veterans would soon give way to homegrown American stars.

Overall, 1977 was a tremendously successful year for the NASL. Attendance was up another 33%, to about 13,000 per game; teams averaged a staggering 29,251 per game for the playoffs. The Cosmos drew 62,394 fans to a 3-1 victory over the Rowdies on June 19. From this point on, Cosmos fans turned out in droves, drawing over 57,000 week later against Minnesota. They broke the record again in their second playoff game August 14, against Ft. Lauderdale. There they drew 77,691, a USA record that held until the 1984 Olympics, and a Giants Stadium record that held until the 1996 MLS All-Star extravaganza. Seven games were telecast on the TVS syndicated network, the most soccer on television since 1968. Ron Newman became the first man to win the Coach of the Year award in both the American Soccer League and the NASL, as he was honored for his fine job with Ft. Lauderdale. Franz Beckenbauer earned the league’s MVP award for a half-season’s work.

Once again, NASL clubs played an extensive series of friendlies against foreign clubs, and several teams embarked on overseas tours. Overall, NASL teams had 9 wins, 7 draws and 10 losses at the hands of their opponents. The Cosmos were the busiest, visiting Bermuda and Europe in March, where they lost to Neuchatal Xamax and Zurich of switzerland and defeated Lazio of Italy. Perhaps eager to avenge this loss, Lazio made a trip to the States in June, where they returned the favor defeating the Cosmos 3-2 at Giants Stadium. Following a 0-0 draw against Rochester, they trounced the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers 9-0. Other visiting teams included Ipswich Town of england, and Roma FC of Italy, which beat Vancouver 2-1 and held Tampa Bay Rowdies to a 1-1 draw. The Cosmos toured the Far East after the regular season, compiling a record of 3 wins, 2 losses and two draws. Among the highlights were a 1-1 draw over Portuguesa, Venezuela, followed by victories over Furakawa (4-2) and the Japanese National Team (3-1). The Chinese national team was a bigger challenge; after playing to a 1-1 draw in Peking on September 17, they defeated New York 2-1 in Shanghai on September 20. The final tour of the season was the most poignant, as Santos traveled to the US to help Pele say farewell to his American fans. After defeating Seattle 2-0, Santos traveled to New York.

The NASL’s magical season was capped by one last sellout, as over 75,000 braved a driving rainstorm in October to see Pelé’s final match. Playing against Santos of Brazil, the only other club team he had ever played for, Pelé split time with both teams, starting with New York and finishing in Santos’ white. Ironically, Pelé scored for New York against his long-time club, and the Cosmos won 2-1.

Although the American Soccer League’s West Coast expansion was not particularly successful-Oakland, Tacoma, and Utah had all folded-the circuit endeavored to maintain its "national" status, adding the California Sunshine and Santa Barbara Condors to the Western Division. In addition, Rhode Island, trying to capture some of the fans left behind by the North American Soccer League’s transfer of its Hartford club to New Haven and its folding of Boston, rechristened itself the New England Oceaneers.

A mere 12 games into the season, however, Santa Barbara folded. Realizing that the league was plagued was this sort of thing far too often, Commissioner Bob Cousy hired American Soccer League Management, Inc. in June 1977. A management firm designed to handle all of the league’s business and financial affairs, ASLM set about creating a "blueprint" to be used by the ASL in 1978 and beyond as it tried to solidify itself and grow with the sport.

New Jersey Americans, coached by Manny Schellscheidt, acquired three of the league’s all-time greats prior to the season. José Neto and Juan Cano were acquired from New England, and two-time league MVP Ringo Cantillo was signed from the NASL’s Tampa Bay Rowdies. Although Schellscheidt had made his reputation coaching a defensive juggernaut with Rhode Island in 1974, his Americans played a wide-open, attacking brand of soccer. New Jersey went from "worst-to-first" in 1977, going 16-7-1 to win the Eastern Division, far ahead of the perennially dangerous New York Apollo. In the Western Division, Sacramento coach Bob Ridley did his own worst-to-first act, as the Spirits edged the Los Angeles Skyhawks for the division crown. In goal, New York’s Keith Van Eron established himself as the league’s best keeper, and was named to the post-season all-star team for his effort. Sacramento veteran Gary Allison led the league in goals against average, primarily due to playing behind Sacramento’s stifling defense.

Predictably, the playoffs resulted in New Jersey and Sacramento meeting in the final, which promised to offer an interesting contrast in styles: the Americans’ league-leading offense versus Sacramento’s league-best defense. The Americans, playing before a home crowd at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, stunned the westerners, cruising to a 3-0 win. New Jersey midfielder Ringo Cantillo, who already won his third Most Valuable Player award in the league, was the match’s star. Sacramento had to console itself with Bob Ridley’s Coach of the Year award and forward Mal Roche’s Rookie of the Year honors.

National Team coach Walt Chyzowych had established in 1977 a Junior Team (U-17) whose players would be eligible for the Youth World Cup, and completely reconstituted the Olympic team for the 1980 games in Moscow. The new Olympic squad included several young NASL players who were able to retain their amateur status by signing "Olympic Registration Forms" and receiving a nominal sum, approx. $50 per week for expenses. This also allowed college stars to avoid losing their NCAA eligibility. These players included Glenn Myernick of Dallas, and Fred Pereira from Ft. Lauderdale. Other Olympic players included college players such as Ricky Davis, Greg Villa, Ty Keough, Tom Renyolds, and two players from the amateur Milwaukee Bavarians, Herb Schweinert and Glen Ward.

In 1978, the festival of the Americas, a round-robin tournament was held at Downing Stadium at Randall's island, New York, pitting the US National team against Universitaria of Ecuador, Millonarios of Colombia, and Alianza of Peru. Although these were club teams, they were quite strong. Seven Alianza players eventually qualified for Peru's 1978 World cup team. The Americans included Al Trost, Arnie Mausser, Boris Bandov, Dave D'Errico, Gary Etherington and Ricky Davis. The US team turned in a surprising performance, shutting out Universitaria 3-0 and Millonarios 3-0, and beating Alianza 2-1 to take the tournament. More amazingly, the US outscored their opponents 8-1. Although their skills were rudimentary, the Americans showed a promising practicality, and particularly among the aggressive forwards, traditionally a weak spot, given the NASL's lack of opportunity for US strikers. Americans were generally relegated to defense and goalkeeping.

The US then went on to play five games in central America, losing two to Guatemala, being shut out by Mexico 3-0 and splitting a pair with El Salvador. The team finished with a three game series against China, beating them 1-1 in Washington, and winning 2-1 in Los Angeles and 1-0 in Atlanta. Meanwhile, a US U-17 team played a tournament in West Germany, winning 4, tying 2 and losing 1. The Junior team played in the Tournament of Monte Carlo in November, losing games to the soviet Union, France and west Germany. This was the first time that a US Junior Team had played in a European tournament. The captain was Perry Van Der Beck. Arnie Mausser and Alan Mayer continued to split time in the nets, while a young college star named Ricky Davis made his mark in the U.S. midfield.

3/11/77 New York Cosmos 4 at Bermuda Under-23 0
3/13/77 New York Cosmos 1 at Bermuda National Team 0
3/19/77 New York Cosmos 0 at Neuchatel Xamax (Switzerlan 1
3/20/77 New York Cosmos 1 at Zurich (Switzerland) 3
3/24/77 New York Cosmos 2 at Lazio (Italy) 1

0 losses, 1 unknown.
9/1/77 New York Cosmos 5 at Caribbean All-Stars 2 in Trinidad
9/4/77 New York Cosmos 1 at Portuguesa 1 in Caracas
9/10/77 New York Cosmos 4 at Furakawa (Japan) 2 in Tokyo
9/14/77 New York Cosmos 3 at Japan National Team 1 in Tokyo
9/17/77 New York Cosmos 1 at Chinese National Team 1 in Peking
9/20/77 New York Cosmos 1 at Chinese National Team 2 in Shanghai
9/25/77 New York Cosmos 2 at Mohun Begun (India) 2 in Calcutta